Northwoods Amateur Radio Group becomes state certified

by Louise H. McGregor, staff writer
Ham radio operators are a special breed of their own. And, they are not a dying breed as many had thought they would be with all of the advances in technology. Read More...

Deer River water tower cleaned
by Louise H. McGregor, staff writer
The exterior of the Deer River water tower was cleaned on July 21 by the Water Tower Clean & Coat, Inc. crew and they did a dive on July 22 to inspect the interior. Read more...

Princeton man dies in
head-on collision

Wayne S. Andrist, 44, of Princeton, died Wednesday, July 21 in a head-on collision on Hwy. 46 north of Deer River. Andrist was driving southbound when his vehicle crossed into the northbound lane and ran head-on into a Kenworth Semi truck driven by Chanin L. Johnson of Kelliher. Andrist was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident happened shortly after 1 p.m.
Assisting the Minnesota State Patrol at the scene were the Deer River Fire Department, the Deer River Police Department and the Itasca County Sheriff’s Department.

Reader answers back
Dear Editor,
I am responding to Ms. Sampson’s of Keewatin letter of last week. Perhaps, if she were local, she would understand and be more aware of the issues and people of whom she speaks. (Keewatin gets their electricity from Minnesota Power). Read More...

Bemidji Speedway
by Dennis Peterson
7-11-2010
The weather Sunday night at Bemidji Speedway was definitely cooler but the action on the track was hot and furious. Read More...

North Star Stampede
drew near record crowd

In spite of a wet summer and 1.7 inches of rain on the weekend, near record crowds braved the moisture and the mud to attend the 55th Annual North Star Stampede at Effie. Read More...

Bigfork Valley Kids Challenge to
host NFL Punt, Pass, & Kick Competition

Young pro football fans will have the opportunity to exhibit their football skills when the Bigfork Valley Kids Challenge hosts an NFL Punt, Pass, & Kick competition on Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. The competition is free and open to boys and girls ages 6-15. Read More...

Bigfork Valley Challenge
race just around the corner

It’s a good time to start training – the Bigfork Valley Challenge race is just weeks away.
On Sat., Sept. 11, the Jingo Lake forest road in the Chippewa National Forest will come alive with walkers and runners. It will be the fifth running of the Bigfork Valley Challenge which has expanded to include a half marathon race, a 4.5 mile race and a 3 mile pleasure walk/run. Read More...

Continued growth shown

at Deer River Hired Hands
by Louise H. McGregor, staff writer
Deer River Hired Hands, Inc. (DRHH) held their annual lunch and tour open house on July 21 to let area residents know what they do and how they continue to grow. Read more...

Fourth annual DRHS

Warrior Scramble golf tournament
The fourth annual DRHS Warrior Scramble was held July 24 at the Blueberry Hills Golf Course. After a rainy start to the tournament it turned into a beautiful day for the fifteen teams involved in this year’s tournament. Read more...

Sheriff’s Report

Friday, July 16 — Received a report of harassing emails on Swamp Road, Deer River, at 10:24 a.m. Read More...

Check the Gallery for all of this weeks photos, including the Effie Rodeo!

The 55th Annual North Star Stampede was held at the North Star Ranch in Effie the weekend of July 23, 24 and 25. It featured many events associated with old time ranching. The horses the riders drew for their ride had colorful names such as Rodeo Red, Release Me, Fever Reliever and Faded Love. See more photos in the Gallery.

Two juveniles injured in ATV accident

Two juvenile boys were injured in an ATV accident July 25. Itasca County Sheriff Pat Medure identified the victims as Austin Michael Weber, 14, of Zimmerman and Nicholas Paul Wiegele, 13, of Hovland.
The sheriff said the Polaris ATV was driven by Austin Weber when it left the roadway and struck a tree. The driver and his passenger,Wiegele, were thrown from the ATV. The accident occurred on Burns Lake Road approximately two miles north of Itasca County Road 45 in rural Marcell.
Both victims were transported to Bigfork Valley Hospital by the Bigfork Ambulance and later airlifted to St. Marys’s Medical Center in Duluth.
The accident was reported to the sheriff’s office at 4:14 pm.

Effie Rodeo Daze Raffle Winners

The children's’ raffle winners: were, in the three to five year bracket - Tyler Buckingham, in the six to nine year bracket - Master Ortman, and in the 10 to 13 age bracket was Olivia McCulley.
Adult raffle winners were, Kristi Francisco - $50, Carolyn Schmidtz - Bluebird houses, and David Baldwin -Wolf Blanket
There were no winners in the 5K race. It was rained out with the downpour the Effie/Bigfork area was doused with on July 24.
The cowboy boot/medallion hunt was won by a member of the Francisco family. The first names were not available by WIR deadline. “It was found on the big double outhouse between Effie and the rodeo grounds,” said Lil Black

Intentional Realism:
handmade prints by Cecilia Leider

Beginning Aug. 5, Cecilia Leider’s woodcut prints will be on exhibit in the Edge Center Gallery. These woodcut prints vary in size from small to unusually large with a variety of subjects all derived from nature.  Read More...

Military News
Navy Seaman Kyle Bowers completes training
Navy Seaman Recruit Kyle E. Bowers, son of Cyndi A. Faubel of Spokane, Wash. and Robert W. Bowers, of Grand Rapids, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. with honors. Read More...

Blueberry Bowl
Beach volleyball standings

July 22
10-1 Sand Boxers
9-1 Blazing Sunburns
6-3 Sand Blasters
8-5 Team Franzia
6-4 Thirsty Thursdays
4-4 No Name Phil
5-5 Sloppy Joes
5-7 Big Slammers
2-4 House Special
2-8 Class of 2010
1-7 Gosh Dam
0-9 Riff Raff

Legion team’s final rally falls short
Misses chance at state tournament

by Jim Erzar
Deer River’s American Legion Post #122 baseball team rallied from substantial deficits four times this season to win their games. When Deer River trailed Chisholm 8-1 last Saturday night in the fourth inning of the game for the right to play Ely for the District 8 Division II American Legion Championship, they staged a rally once again to tie the game at 8-8, only to end up on the losing end of a 10-9 ball game. Read More...

Found at last

by Louise H. McGregor, staff writer
The Deer River Wild Rice Festival Medallion Hunt was supposed to last only one day, July 10. The hunt ended at last when the medallion was found on July 21. Read More...